The pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the infectious disease due to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has caused drastic changes in medical institutions around the world. For instance, hospital visitor restrictions have placed greater impetus on how communication occurs between providers and families. However, one potential use of telemedicine that has been less discussed is that involving inpatients. This is especially important because many COVID-19 patients receive mechanical ventilation and sedation and thus do not have the capacity to understand their surroundings or to express their wishes. In addition, non-COVID-19 inpatients also have the potential to suffer from lack of communication with their families given these restrictions. However, technology has come a long way over the past few decades and thus may in fact serve to better address inpatients’ needs, especially in a time of crisis, and implementing telehealth in the ICU setting has been found to suggest benefits such as improved access to care, better outcomes, reduced length of stay, more ready access to address emergencies, and cost savings. We seek to determine whether telehealth resources have been utilized in ICUs during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether they have been seen as useful and should be included in clinical care beyond the pandemic.

Target Audience: All US-based NCS members